weakness
/ˈwik.nɪs/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.19 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: debility, frailty, vulnerability; vincibility"
- "In a small number of horses, muscle weakness may progress to paralysis."
- "His inability to speak in front of an audience was his weakness."
- "The only weakness in her plan was its reliance on the electricity being up and running."
- "The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. No one queried it. It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad."
- "Bradford had preyed on Villa's inability to defend set pieces, corners in particular, in their first-leg win and took advantage of the weakness again as Hanson equalised to restore their two-goal aggregate lead."
Etymology
From Middle English weyknesse, replacing earlier Middle English wocnesse, wakenes, wacnesse (“weakness”), from Old English wācnes (“weakness”). Equivalent to weak + -ness.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: weyknesse
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwik.nɪs/
- British English: /ˈwiːk.nɪs/